HERSHEY — Tracey Green wasn’t exactly on Pennsylvania wrestling’s radar screen when the season opened last December.

But he is now ... and will be when next season gets under way this December.

The undersized but overachieving Methacton junior proved he was among the state’s premier heavyweights this weekend by finishing sixth at 285 pounds during the PIAA-Class AAA Championships at the Giant Center.

The noticably shorter and lighter Green, surrendering upwards of 5-to-6 inches and 35-to-50 pounds to his opponents all year, won three of his six bouts over the grueling three days here, dropping his last one, 2-0, to Warwick senior Tom Devenney.

“If in the beginning of the year you would’ve said Tracey was among the top six in the state, well, I don’t know about that,” said Methacton head coach A.J. Maida. “I thought he could get here, absolutely, and then anything would be possible. But I don’t know if I could’ve said top six in the beginning of the year.”

Green (38-6) — Methacton’s first state medalist in the heavyweight bracket and 22nd overall — got here by dominating at the PAC-10, District 1-West and Southeast Regional tournaments. And he made a top-six finish possible by recovering from a quarterfinal loss with back-to-back, overtime thrillers over Frankin Regional’s Luke Fleck and Altoona’s Austin Rosenberry. Then, after a consolation semifinal setback to Kiski Area’s Shane Kuhn, he lost his finale to Devenney (42-5).

“I met my expectations,” the soft-spoken Green said. “But it was so exciting to come here, and such a good experience for me. It’s been the best experience of my life. I’m really happy with my wrestling. I’ve improved a lot since last year.”

Improved so much that he’ll definitely be in this season’s final state rankings and, of course, be in an even more admirable spot when he opens his senior season ... not bad for someone who was an unknown soul statewide just a few months ago.

“I just improved a lot since last year,” Green said. “I improved on everthing, like my skills, strength, stamina and conditioning.

“When I got here the (wrestlers) were better than I expected. There were some big guys, some strong guys. I learned every point counts.”

Long before arriving here Thursday, though, Green made a point of becoming a better wrestler himself, too.

“Tracey was a freshman during (former state runner-up) Brad Clarke’s senior year,” Maida explained. “They were partners (in the practice room). Clarke was an older guy, but he had a motor, too.

“So Tracey learned from the best. He also took the ball and moved it forward, too.”

Green motored by a lot of more recognizeable heavyweight names ... the old-fashioned way.

“Hard work,” Maida said. “We alway stress to our kids that their strength and conditionining should be better than anyone they’re wrestling. Tracey bought into that. He doesn’t wear down, and he’s so strong. He’s probably stronger than anyone he wrestles, he’s just not as heavy.”

That’s evident during weigh-ins.

“But when Tracey went against Nazareth’s (returning state runner-up) Aaron Bradley in the final of the Nazareth Invitational, was only down 3-1 in the third period and was still pushing the action. that kind of opened our eyes,” Maida said.

Much like how his wrestling this weekend opened the eyes of many, many others.

And lit up that radar screen.

* * *

Gulotta (40-9) had to settle for his second straight eight-place finish at 113 after an up-and-down weekend. The Wildcat sophomore dominated in his two wins, but a two-point loss in the quarterfinals and a quick pin in the consolation quarterfinals dropped him into the position he was a year ago. And the end result was the same as a year ago, this time a third-period pin by Chambersburg’s Tanner Shoap (41-9) denying him a season-ending victory.

Frank (29-7), positioned to get here last season before coming up short due to an injury, got into a thriller with Dallastown’s Rodney Sunday in the consolation quarterfinals before falling 4-3. The junior came back in the seventh-place final only to get pinned by Big Spring senior and Southcentral Regional runner-up Dustin Rook (20-4).

Bolig (47-8 ), who won one of three bouts here a year ago, will sure remember 3-2 ... as in the final score of all three of his losses this week. His first was to eventual state champion Jacob Taylor of Bald Eagle Area in the quarterfinals; his second was to Martin Strenk of Delaware Valley in the consolation quarterfinals; and his third was to Alex DeCiantis of North Allegheny (35-4) in the seventh-place final.

The disappointing 0-for-3 on Saturday night didn’t diminish what otherwise was a super season for all three of the Wildcats and, for that matter, the entire Owen J. Roberts team.

“Anytime you bring three kids here and all of them medal it’s special,” said OJR head coach Steve DeRafelo. “I know we’ve never done it before, so that alone makes it special. To do it you have to get the best out of your kids at the right time.

“It’s actually bittersweet for us. All three of them had good quarterfinals. They were right there, so close. They lost, but you have to give them credit the way they battled back.”

Bolig was one of the movers and shakers on this year’s PAC-10 and District 1 Team Duals championship team. He’ll be graduating, but Gulotta and Frank will return to the Wildcats’ lineup next season ... and DeRafelo see’s that as a big plus for the program.

“It’ll be big having their experience back,” he said. “(Gulotta’s) been here twice, and now (Frank) has been here. But they still have work to do. They’re not where they want to be on that medal stand, believe me. So we have to get back to work. We still have some things to clean up.”

But this season won’t be one DeRafelo or the devoted OJR following will soon forget, either.

“You don’t ever accomplish everything you want to,” DeRafelo said. “But the kids should be proud, and our team should be proud, of what they all accomplished this year.”

NOTES

District 1 finished with 19 medalists among its 42 qualifiers out of the Southeast Regional. ... All four of the district’s finalists - Norristown’s Zach Fuentes (113), Penncrest’s Joe Gartland (170), Norristown’s Brett Harner (182) and Wood all settled for runner-up honors. ... The three-day tournament attracted 47,778 fans.